Today was the first day in The Netherlands! We landed bright and early at 5:40 am to begin our day. We met Brian, our tour guide, and he gave us our metro cards that we will be using for the entirety of our stay in Amsterdam. In leaving the airport and traveling to our hotel, it became immediately evident to me how focused The Netherlands is on sustainability.

When we went board the metro, I noticed there were buttons that needed to be pressed in order to open the doors. I have never seen this before and found it extremely interesting. It helps to conserve power, as not all the doors will be opened. Also, the escalator we used to get onto the platform slowed down when not in use. This was another effort to conserve power that I have not yet seen. These small but important efforts all contribute to the sustainability of the Netherlands, and I believe they should be more widely implemented.

Once we lugged our suitcases to the hotel, we left to explore the city of Amsterdam. Brian created a scavenger hunt for us so that we could see many famous landmarks and monuments, some of which included Anne Frank’s house and the National Monument on Dam square. We split into groups and began our search. Some of the clues proved very difficult, but my group came in third place!

I continued to explore the city with some friends and grab lunch after the scavenger hunt had ended. While walking around I enjoyed many gorgeous views of the architecture, especially the houses that border the canal. Among all these gorgeous views was a constant of Netherlands culture: bikes. The biking culture in Amsterdam is extremely prominent. The sidewalks are lined with parked bikes, and they dominate the streets. This culture speaks for the sustainability of the Netherlands. With biking being so popular, additional energy is not used to power or produce vehicles, lessening the carbon footprint of the country. I also noticed that of the cars that were present, they tended to be smaller and more compact than cars found in the United States, further contributing to sustainability.

After a much-needed break at the hotel, we went to dinner at a restaurant named Batavia, and ate sausages and mashed potatoes. This is a Dutch dish called stamppot and I really enjoyed it! We finished off the day with some refreshing ice cream before heading back to the hotel.